Interior Delegation Announces New Chair

Published: February 1, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 29, 2010

(JUNEAU) – Interior Delegation Chairman Representative Scott Kawasaki passed the gavel to the senior senator from the Interior, Senator Joe Thomas. Senator Thomas will serve as the chair for the 2010 legislature and interim.

“It was an honor to serve the Interior as the Chair of the Delegation.” Kawasaki said “It was a pleasure to help facilitate open dialogue between our community and our government. The Interior provides tremendous support to all their legislators who represent them down in Juneau.”

The Interior Delegation is a bipartisan legislative work group established to advance priorities important to Interior Alaska. The delegation is comprised of the 11 lawmakers who represent communities from the Southeast panhandle to the foothills of the Brooks Range and centered around the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The chairman is selected by consensus at the first regular meeting of the Interior Delegation.

Senator Thomas will begin his tenure by organizing the bi-weekly meetings with the Chamber of Commerce Government Relations Committee and the Arctic Alliance. The Interior Delegation Chair also helps coordinate correspondence on issues pertinent to Interior Alaska. The chair also schedules meetings with local organizations and interest groups prior to the legislative session.

“It is important to the Interior for us to work together as a group,” said Thomas. “We are a diverse group, but we have many issues in common, When we combine resources, we can be more effective for the residents of Interior Alaska. We have a strong delegation, with many different viewpoints but a common purpose, and I am honored to be chosen as the chair this year.”

For more information, contact Senator Joe Thomas’s office at 907-465-2327 or toll free at 1-800-336-7383.